One For India

Association for India's Development (AID) has launched its year-end fund-raising campaign titled "One For India (OFI)". Have you wondered what ONE can do for a Nation?

Make any ONE contribution to bring hope and joy to thousands of lives!
ONE dollar a day can support a village school for a year
ONE dollar a week can provides health care for a village household
Even ONE dime a day can make a difference to someone's life

Make any ONE donation that suits you

AID has a tax-exempt status from IRS, so I urge you to make that ONE contribution today. Donate here. If you would like to know about our activities, please see our latest year-ending newsletter (in PDF).

For more details, send me an email at sridharved AT gmail DOT com

Famous on the Blogosphere

A weekend full of parties, and the weekend doesn't seem like getting over! On Saturday, we were invited to a dinner at 1531 Worthington Ave by Jayanth and roommates. Sunday was Leena's graduation party at Steve's house, and Monday was a dinner at Premnandhini's house for all our friends.

During Sunday's graduation party, I met Nigamanth and Divya after a long time. We got down talking about several different issues, and suddenly at one point, Nigamanth told Divya and others nearby convincingly that "Oh..! this guy lives on the blogosphere." Then the conversation switched to my blog. Nigamanth said, "There are a lot of people living in Columbus who have not met him, but know him through his blog". Boy, was I flattered? Sudu commented that he too knew about me (through my blog) much before we actually met a party.

I had sort of given up on blogging for sometime. If you write often, you have a flow going on, but once you stop, the inertia sets in and it takes a lot of effort to start writing again. But man, this was certainly a lot of admiration for a little blog that I write not-so-often. Nigamanth's comments have certainly fueled the nearly-extinguished fire within me on blogging. I will certainly try my best to be active on the blogoshpere. Watch out for my next blog, but till then, spread the word!

India @ 60

On the 60th anniversary of independent India, I pick up the important events that shaped the country over these last 60 years (in chronological order). Others are welcome to share their views and suggest changes to this list:

1. 1947 - Without doubt, the most important event was the independence from the British Raj, after nearly 150 years of colonial rule.
2. 1948 - The first war with Pakistan that followed soon after independence caused a simmering divide between the two countries that is yet to subside.
3. 1950 - Declaring itself a republic, formally breaking all the bonds with the monarch in London and adoption of a new Constitution in 1950.
4. 1955 - Decision to stay away from the US and Soviet blocs; and formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
5. 1962 - The war with China and dispute over Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
6. 1971 - Liberation of Bangladesh and victory over Pakistan.
7. Early 1970s - The emergence and rise of Amitabh Bacchan as the angry young man on screen.
8. 1975 - Imposition of Emergency by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Agreeably, one of the darkest hours of democracy which lasted for over 2 years.
9. 1983 - Winning the Cricket World Cup in a country devoid of real stars. The victory spawns a whole generation of sporting heros who endorse anything from cars to toothpastes to energy drinks.
10. 1983 - Operation Bluestar and the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Widespread anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, Punjab and other nearby states.
11. 1989 - Rise to prominence of the hindu nationalist party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the General Elections.
12. 1991 - An year of turmoil starts as the then Prime Minister V P Singh brings up the Mandal Commission recommendations, clearly targeting the oncoming parliamentary elections. Widespread protests break-out and schools and colleges are closed for an extended period in most parts of the country.
12. 1991 - Assassination of Prime Ministerial candidate, Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE terrorists.
13. 1991 - LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) of economic reforms rolled out by the duo of Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister and Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to dole out the country from an impending economic crisis. Indian economy opens up to allow trans-national companies to setup and trade in India.
14. 1992 - Demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which is soon followed by the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. The country is torn apart by communal clashes and the ghastly scenes witnessed in 1983 anti-Sikh riots are revisited. Though everyone hoped this would be the last one, Godhra was to follow 10 years later.
15. 1998 - Nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan put India into the 'Nuclear Club'. Similar tests by Pakistan, and the spectre of a nuclear war between the two countries loomed large. These tests were immediately followed by economic and technological sanctions imposed by a slew of countries including US, UK , Canada, Australia and Japan, apart from a host of European nations.
16. 2000-01 - The Dotcom boom and bust, followed by a slowdown of the global economy. The temporary collapse of the American economy following the 9/11 attacks compounded the problem. Couple of years later, the Indian economy regained its shape, stronger and better than ever. IT and related services, added with manufacturing were the drivers of the new age economy. Agriculture, however, was getting neglected and farmer suicides was just one indicator.
17. 2005 - Right to Information (RTI) Act. Hailed as one of the most progressive laws ever made in the country, it is a powerful tool to combat the rampant corruption prevalent in public administration in the country.

Master of Science

After a long hiatus, I am back to the blogosphere. It was this day, that was holding me away. And the day finally arrived. Dressed in a white shirt and brown trousers, I left for the lab in the morning. As it approached 2 p.m., I was getting a little jittery. I reached the Conference room half an hour before to set the room up with refreshments and the computer. Ruchika accompanied me in setting up the projector. Very soon, Meera and Komudi arrived. A couple more walked in, before my advisor entered the room. Tension was palpable in the air. Noticing the presence of several people, he said, "We have quite an audience here", to which Kimberly remarked "I know, he's a popular man!".

The incoming stream of people ebbed, and I was ready to begin, except that there was no sight of Dr. Walter. My advisor wanted to start anyway, but Dr. Singh would not have that. In came Dr. Walter, and the room was closed. I was asked to give a brief bio and then start the presentation. The talk went for a little under half an hour, and then the audience was asked to leave. Now, it was just me and the committee. Questions started flowing, luckily one at a time. It went on till about 3 p.m., and then I was asked to step outside for a few minutes. I waited impatiently outside as the committee deliberated on my performance. Then the door opened, and out came my advisor. "All right Sir, you did it. Congratulations", and extended his hand for a firm shake. As I walked into the room, both Dr. Singh and Dr. Walter congratulated me as well, and wished me success in my new program. The thesis was approved with minor changes. Subject to my submission of thesis by August 15, I would be "taking the walk" (getting my degree) in the Summer Commencement on August 26.

Turmoil in the neighborhood

Pakistan is yet to recover from one of the worst political violence witnessed in the port town of Karachi. What started as an issue between President Pervez Musharraf and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has now assumed gigantic proportions and polarized the country into two. The city of Karachi has come to a stop, and the whole country is suffering from social and political unrest, which may soon start to have economic repercussions as well.

Things don't look rosy with the other neighbors as well. On the eastern front, Bangladesh is the scene of intense political activity..well..without a government. The two leading parties, Bangladesh Nationalist party and the Awami League have been questioning the fairness of the upcoming elections and pointing irregularities in the voters list. The country is currently under a state of emergency and headed by a caretaker government.

Down south, Sri Lanka is battling renewed attacks by LTTE, including air raids on the capital city of Colombo. The landlocked Nepal seems to be doing better, months after King Gyanendra was stripped of all royal powers and the state was proclaimed secular by the 7-party government.

It is rather surprising that the Indian government hasn't involved itself much into issues across the border. A stable neighborhood augurs well for the social and economic development of the entire South Asian region, and it is high time the SAARC countries realize that.

Fighting Corruption in India

I agree it's been a long while since I visited my own blog, leave alone post one entry. Well, the news for now is that AID Columbus is hosting public rights activist and 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award Winner, Arvind Kejriwal on May 30, 2007. Arvind who heads the Delhi-based NGO, Parivartan has been the driving force behind the successful implementation of the Right to Information Act, an act which gives ordinary citizens the right to challenge the actions of government officials, on literally anything from passport applications to the quality of mortar used in road construction outside their homes.

AID Jeevansathi, Ravi Kuchimanchi has called the RTI Act, along with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as one of the most progressive laws to have been passed by the Indian Government ever. Arvind has been extensively touring the US to raise awareness among NRIs and Indian students about the power that this Act has given to the people. Some of the success stories can be found here.